They give first-time buyers the opportunity to save up to £200 a month with the government topping up their contributions by 25%, up to a maximum of £3,000.

Challenge

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, warns that scheme has exposed the government to “significant” market risk if property values fall.

Mr Davies says: “Help to Buy has increased home ownership and housing supply, particularly for first-time buyers. However, a proportion of participants could have afforded to buy a home without the government’s help.”

He says the government now faces a challenge to wean the property market off the scheme with as little impact as possible on its plan to build 300,000 homes a year from the mid-2020s.

The housing initiative has made around 211,000 loans amounting to £11.7 billion since its launch. Around 38% of all new-build property sales have been supported by loans, equivalent to 4% of all housing purchases.

When the scheme ends in 2023, the net amount loaned by the government is predicted to peak at around £25 billion, with this investment expected to be recovered by 2031-32.

Mr Davies adds: “Until we can observe its longer-term effects on the property market and whether the Department has recovered its substantial investment, we cannot say whether the scheme has delivered value for money.”

Around 81% of all buyers supported by the scheme have been first-time buyers.

It was announced in 2018 that from April 2021 only first-time buyers would be able to use the scheme.

Kit Malthouse, the housing minister, says: “Help to Buy has been genuinely life changing for first-time buyers across the country, helping them secure their first step on the property ladder.

“Not only has it supported more than 170,000 first-time buyers, it has increased home building by nearly 15%, and is set to make a profit for the public: it’s been a win-win.”